The Lady Flirts with Death: A Simon & Elizabeth Mystery

At the start of Herring’s fine third 16th-century mystery (after 2011’s Poison, Your Grace), apothecary Simon Maldon, disguised as a priest, visits his royal friend, 19-year-old Elizabeth Tudor, in the Tower of London. Elizabeth blames her plight not on the new monarch, her half-sister, Mary, but on the queen’s advisers who have branded her a traitor. Simon sees another Tower prisoner, his underworld friend Peto the Pope. Peto admits the murder charge against him “is hardly beyond belief,” but he assures Simon he’s innocent. As Simon seeks to free Elizabeth and Peto amid much cloak-and-dagger intrigue, his childless wife assists a pregnant girl in need. Though supplying less historical background than usual, Herring deftly explores the theme of loyalty in a time of deep religious division. Engaging characters and a well-paced plot more than compensate for the occasional anachronism (e.g., “my single goal in life”). (May)